# Tappan Zee High School

Tappan Zee High School is a public high school located in Orangeburg, New York in Rockland County. The school serves students in grades 9–12, and is part of the South Orangetown Central School District. The school derives its name from the nearby Tappan Zee section of the Hudson River.
The school draws students from Orangetown, New York, which comprises the villages and hamlets of Blauvelt, Grandview, Orangeburg, Tappan, Palisades, Piermont, Upper Grandview, Sparkill, and portions of South Nyack.
As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 945 students and 89.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.66:1. There were 144 students (15.2% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch, and 21 (2.2% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch. In 2006, the school dedicated new athletic fields and tennis courts, including an artificial turf football/lacrosse field and track. In 2019, the school replaced the artificial turf field that was installed in 2006 with a newer, more environmentally friendly, turf.
The principal is Melissa Luciano.

## Extracurricular activities
### Clubs

Tappan Zee High School offers clubs for students after school. This includes Academic League, Aquaponics, Chess Club, D.E.C.A., Drama Club, French Club, GSTA (Gay Straight Transgender Alliance), Japanese Club, Leo Club, Math Team, Model U.N., Multi-Cultural Club, Robotics Club, S.A.D.D.(Students Against Destructive Decisions), Science Olympiad, Engineering Club, Academic League, Social Justice Club, Spanish Club, Tapress (school newspaper), Tones (school literary magazine), Halfmoon (yearbook series), and Youth and Government.
In addition, Tappan Zee High School hosts a play in the fall and a musical in the spring every year. In 2021, a Tappan Zee High School student was elected Youth Governor for the New York State Youth and Government Conference.
Tappan Zee has created a yearly addition of the Halfmoon yearbook series since its founding. Other long-lasting clubs include Tappan Zee's honor Societies, Spanish club, D.E.C.A., Ski & Snowboarding club, Tapress, Tones, and Drama.

### Honor societies

The high school has honor societies that students can apply for, such as National Honor Society, Computer Science Honor Society, History Honor Society, English Honor Society, Science Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, French Honor Society, Italian Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, NSTEM Honor Society, and Tri-M Music Honor Society.

### Music

Students at Tappan Zee High School are offered multiple music classes, such as Singing Actor, Interactive Music, and Chorale Conducting. Students can also join musical clubs, such as Accafellas, Bella Acapella, Chamber Orchestra, Handbell Choir, Jazz Ensemble, Pep Band, and Quartet Club.

### Sports

Tappan Zee High School has teams in numerous sports.

#### Fall teams

* Cross Country (varsity, girls' and boys' teams)
* Football (junior varsity (JV) and varsity, only boys' teams)
* Soccer (JV and varsity, girls' and boys' teams)
* Swimming (varsity, only girls' team with boys' team in winter)
* Tennis (JV and varsity, only girls' teams with boys' team in spring)
* Volleyball (JV and varsity, only girls' teams)
* Cheerleading (varsity, coed)

#### Winter teams

* Basketball (Freshman, JV, and varsity boys' teams, JV and varsity girls' teams)
* Bowling (varsity, girls' and boys' teams)
* Fencing (JV and varsity for épée and foil, girls' and boys' teams)
* Ice hockey (JV and varsity)
* Skiing (intramural, boys' and girls' teams)
* Swimming (varsity, only boys' team with girls' team in fall)
* Indoor Track & Field (varsity)
* Wrestling (JV and varsity, only boys' teams)
* Cheerleading (varsity, coed)

#### Spring teams

* Baseball (JV and varsity)
* Golf (varsity)
* Lacrosse (JV and varsity, girls' and boys' teams)
* Softball (JV and varsity)
* Tennis (JV and varsity, only boys' team with girls' team in fall)
* Outdoor Track & Field (varsity)
In addition to playing on a team, junior and senior varsity athletes can join VAASA, Varsity Athletes Against Substance Abuse.

## Student government

The student government is known as the Student Organization. Each grade elects eight delegates. In addition to the 32 delegates, the entire student body elects four officers: a president, a vice president, a secretary, and a treasurer. The Student Organization (S.O.), runs events throughout the year, such as fundraisers for different charities, book drives, a spirit week, and a pep rally. Students in each grade also elect a class president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. The class officers' only capacity is to fundraise for their class's prom, which occurs at the end of their senior year. They do this by holding fundraisers, such as selling class shirts and rings.

## Notable alumni

* Salman Ahmad, musician
* Neil Berg, composer/lyricist
* Alan Jacobs, film director, screenwriter and producer
* Brian Jagde, opera performer
* Luba Mason (born 1960), actress, singer, songwriter, and dancer
* Brian O'Connell (born 1963), musician
* Hayden Panettiere, actress
* Michael Rispoli (born 1960), character actor who appeared in The Sopranos as Jackie Aprile, Sr.
* Michael Salzhauer (born 1972), plastic surgeon
* Brooke Smith, actress
* Blaise Winter (born 1962), NFL player

## Notable faculty

* Alen Hadzic, coach of the boys and girls varsity fencing team, and fencer; in 2023, Hadzic was banned from fencing and coaching fencing in the US for life by SafeSport, due to his sexual misconduct.